[2][3][4] The gens became notable at the beginning of the Republic thanks to its first known member: Titus Aebutius Helva, who was consul in 499 BC and served during the semi-legendary Battle of Lake Regillus.
[10] Several historians deduced that consuls entered office on this day between 479 and 451,[11] but others have disputed this interpretation, arguing that during the 5th century the date of entry was flexible and depended on military campaigns.
[12][13] Since the beginning of the 5th century, Rome was in a state of constant war with the Aequi and the Volsci, two Italic peoples who moved from central Italy to settle in south Latium.
[14] Livy relates that due to this conflict, the city was crowded with refugees and cattle from the countryside and the promiscuity triggered a deadly plague.
This plague was the first recorded at Rome,[17] but the exact nature of the epidemic remains unknown, due to the lack of a uniformed taxonomy of diseases among ancient authors.